Digital Operations Platforms: What Drilling Managers Need to Know

Most Drilling Managers will be familiar with digital plods (or ePlods). Today, I’d like to introduce you to the new kid on the block: the digital operations platform.

If you haven’t heard about digital ops before, you’ve come to the right place.

In the next few minutes, I’ll walk you through the basics, bring you up to speed on this new kind of software, and provide you with some pointers toward where you can learn more about digital operations. 

So, to answer your question:

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What is a digital operations platform? 

Put simply; a digital operations platform is a software solution that offers drilling teams an easy-to-use and more efficient way to drill holes, fill plods and bill clients - all from one workspace.

They exist to help make the lives of drilling professionals a little bit easier by automating repetitive paperwork so they can instead focus on drilling more metres.

Think about your business right now. Like many Drilling Managers, you might be running your drill programs in one of several ways:

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• using pen and paper plods, spreadsheets and file-sharing services
• through an old-school mining ERP (that makes you feel like you’re working in 2005), or
• an expensive custom-built solution that costs you an arm and a leg any time you even think about updating it. 

Each of these ways of working were cutting-edge in their time, but they haven’t kept up with how people work today. They’re also so expensive that most drilling companies simply haven’t taken up the option; sticking to pen and paper plods to keep their pricing competitive.

If you’ve ever wondered if there could be a better way - you aren’t the only one!

Enter the need for an affordable, modern solution: the digital operations platform.

The digital operations platform replaces pen and paper plods or digital forms with a digital plod app that makes it quick and easy for drillers to record their drilling intervals, pre-starts, time activities and more.

The data collected from the app is then automatically sent to an online portal where the office and management team can review and share data, manage personnel, generate invoices and run reports.

The result is a convenient way to run your drill programs, without the price tag of traditional mining software. 

Digital operations platforms are more affordable because they are sold off-the-shelf ('as is') as Software as a Service (SaaS) products for a monthly subscription fee. 

Like any type of software, Drilling Managers should consider a range of pros and cons. No one type of software will be right for every drilling business, but there are already several great options available to choose from, and the technology keeps getting better and better. 

So, if you’re looking to jump ahead of the competition and start looking at software options to kick start a digital transformation for your drilling business, where should you begin?

 With our Drilling Blog, of course!

On the blog, you’ll find just about everything there is to know about digital operations, including:

• What is Software as a Service?
• 3 things every Drilling Manager needs to know before booking a software demo
• How to manage your drilling company’s digital transformation (the right way)

and more.

Got questions about drilling software? We’ve got answers! Send us a message using the chat bubble to ask us a question.